Mandarin Vanilla Jam

I often find this time of year to be difficult.  The days are so short (it's pretty much dark by 4:30pm) and the weather alternates between rain, snow, freezing rain and cold (or a combination).  Possibly the hardest thing about this is that I know it's just the beginning.  It's not even winter yet, technically.  

Mandarins are one of the few redeeming things about this time of year.  We've already gone through about four 5 kg boxes.  One of those went to making mandarin jam.  I have been wanting to make mandarin jam for a couple of years now.  Last year, the time got away from me and before I knew it, the grocery store stopped carrying mandarins.  

After spending some time scouring the internet for recipes, I came across this post.  I made a variation of the recipe, using more oranges and adding two vanilla beans.

Mandarin Vanilla Jam

 

1 kilo (generous 2 lbs) mandarins, any variety: clementines, tangerines, satsumas, etc., preferably organic

500 grams (2 1/2 cups) sugar, or more to taste

juice of 2-3 lemons

2 sticks of vanilla, split down the middle

Wash 2-3 of your mandarins and zest them, carefully avoiding the white pith underneath. You should have about a tablespoon. Peel all of your fruit, removing as much of the pith and filaments as possible. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, cut each mandarin in half around its equator, and pick out any seeds (I didn't bother doing this since they didn't have seeds). Place the halves along with any juice they've expelled in a food processor and process for about a minute (careful not to fill too much because the juice will leak out the top), until you have a more or less smooth puree.

Combine the mandarin puree, tablespoon of zest, sugar and lemon juice in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat so it continues to boil gently. Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally, until it sets, about 25-30 minutes (I left it on closer to 45 minutes and still found that it wasn't that thick -- possible because I used more oranges. 

To test the set, place a small saucer in the freezer for a couple of minutes, then drizzle a teaspoon of hot jam on it. Allow to cool, then run your finger through it. If it holds the trough, it's set. Also taste for sweetness at this point - if you think it could use more, add a bit more sugar and cook another minute or two; do the same with lemon juice if the acidity needs some perking up.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars, seal tightly and turn upside down until cool. Or use your tried-and-true canning method. Or simply keep in a closed container in the fridge for up to a month.

Verdict:  So far, so good.  It's a lighter flavour than my berry jams.  For example, I tried the mandarin jam with peanut butter and the flavour didn't come through very much.  I'm going to try it as a topping on ice cream or with pancakes.  But, I'm quite happy that it turned out!

 

Raspberry Banana Muffins

Apparently I'm supposed to be relaxing...but I just can't bare the thought of missing out on local, seasonal produce.  Already, the main strawberry season is over! I'm thinking I need to take advantage of everbearing strawberry farms, like this one:

 

Longo's is a grocery chain in Toronto. Does anyone know where I can buy everbearing strawberries in Ottawa? I have a dismal track record with growing them in my backyard. But, I am happy to report that IT'S RASPBERRY SEASON!

I had intentions of going raspberry picking last weekend, but I had to come to terms with reality that picking in 40 degree weather (about 105 F) is just not realistic when you're 9 months pregnant. So, R kindly went to the Byward market and picked up a flat of raspberries. Of course, it wasn't completely altruistic, seeing as raspberries are one of his favourite fruits. He quickly put in a request for raspberry jam.

After making the jam, I still had at least half a flat of raspberries, so I searched around for a muffin recipe to add to our collection in the freezer. I've been on a freezing food kick lately (in preparation for having less time to cook once the baby arrives).

R was skeptical that I'd be able to fit anything else in the freezer. I told him -- when there's a will, there's a way! Now, I just need to work on his will to find things in the freezer.

I found this recipe at Daily Unadventures in Cooking.

Raspberry Banana Muffins 
(makes 12)

Ingredients

1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 banana, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose, and 3/4 cups whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups raspberries

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon and a bunch of elbow grease, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and banana and beat until well combined.

Stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Add milk and stir until just combined. Fold in raspberries. Line a muffin tin with muffin papers and divide the mixture amongst the tins. Bake for 25 minutes.

Verdict: The muffins turned out really well.  Of course, the raspberries fall apart as soon as you mix them in, but with some light mixing, I was able to save larger chunks of raspberries.  The tartness of the raspberries really comes through when you're eating the muffins.  I didn't find there to be much of a banana taste. But, I'm used to a banana recipe that includes 4 bananas in 12 muffins.  So, it's really comparable.  I also like how there isn't a tonne of sugar in the recipe.

Rhubarb and Saskatoon Jam

You really know you're from the prairies of Canada when you walk into a market in Ontario and you're the only one who knows what a Saskatoon berry is.  A rare find, the vendor laughed at my excitement and said "you're from the prairies aren't you".  Busted!

The size of a blueberry, with a more tart and less juicy consistency, Saskatoons are considered a "superfruit"; high in antioxidants and fibre, they help fight cancers and extremely good for the heart.    Saskatoons were and still are used by the first nations people; especially delicious in a sauce with game. The shrub this exceptional berry grows on looks like this:

I could have made a pie; that would have been delicious but after one meal, that's it, all gone.  I decided to make some jam and make my treasured berries last as long as possible.  When I heard that adding rhubarb stretches the quantity, well, let's just say the kitchen became my playground.

This recipe is adapted from The Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association

1 large navel orange, finely chopped

3 1/2 cups diced rhubarb

3 cups sugar 

4 1/2 cups saskatoons

Juice of 1 lemon

Combine orange, rhubarb and sugar in a Dutch oven. 

Bring to boil, stirring constantly    

Add saskatoons and lemon juice. Boil, stirring frequently until thick, about 15 minutes. Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. 

Wipe jar rims thoroughly. 

Seal and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

*NOTE:  I wanted a smoother jam so I used my immersion blender before I filled the jars.  Some would say to mash the berries before adding them to the boiling pot.

Yield: 7 cups (250 ml mason jars)

Although not at all related to the preparation of jam, my foodie travels brought me to this rare site.  How many outdoor ovens do you get to see?

Banana Jam

My Wednesday/Sunday outdoor market has a few new vendors, one of which is a lady who makes preserves.  She loves to chat and is really proud of her product sampling her wares each week.  One could have a full meal just on samples at the market.

I tried her banana jam and knew I'd be making it very soon.  She used crystallized sugar in her jam and that wasn't really appealing to me and it was uber sweet so off I went to make my own banana jam.
I found a recipe at  All Recipes.  With a little bit of adaptation I made it my own.  Think peanut butter and banana jam.  Unless you have an allergy to nuts I can't even imagine you not loving this recipe.

3 cups sugar (I used 2 cups and would still reduce to 1.5 cups)
1 cup water
6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cloves
3 1/2 cup mashed bananas
6 - 125  ml jars

Combine the sugar and water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil for 10 minutes
Stir in lemon juice and cloves.
Add mashed bananas and reduce heat to a simmer, stirring frequently for approximately 45 minutes (should be thick)
Divide among the jars and refrigerate.

Notes:
1.  I wanted a smooth jam so used my immersion blender to get out the banana lumps.  Worked perfectly.
2.  I used 250 ml jars and got 2 1/2 jars of jam
3.  The jam isn't processed so don't have the expectation that it'll last a year.  Everything I've read says 2--3 weeks so small batches are in order.

Preserved Peaches: Four Ways

I have such a tumultuous relationship with peaches.  OK, maybe that's overly dramatic.  But - when they're good, they're amazing and then (what seems like) a week later, they're practically inedible.

It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode with the Mackinaw peaches:



So, to capitalize on the deliciousness that is in-season peaches, I preserved peaches four different ways.

To start, I froze a large freezer bag full of peaches (skin on) to use in my smoothies throughout the year.  This is something I started doing last year.

Next, I got together with a friend to make two types of peach jam.  The first was a sugar-free peach jam recipe from Bernardin.

Sugar-Free Peach Jam

4 cups (1000 ml) peeled, pitted and crushed peaches

1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened apple or white grape juice

2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice

1 pkg (49 g) BERNARDIN® No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin

Sweetener – if using:

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) SPLENDA®  No Calorie Sweetener

OR

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) granulated sugar

** I used about 3/4 cup of honey

Check out the Bernardin website for the full recipe.

I'm quickly shifting the majority of my preserving recipes to low-sugar.  I prefer to use honey or maple syrup over an artificial sweetener and, in the end, they taste great!

The next recipe we tried was a Peach Lavender jam from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving.  

Peach Lavender Jam

2 tbsp dried lavender flowers

1/2 cup boiling water

4 cups finely chopped peaches (about 5-6 medium peaches)

2 tbsp lemon juice

6 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch liquid fruit pectin

1. Place lavender flowers in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over flowers and steep for 20 minutes. Strain (keep liquid) and discard flowers.  Make sure to smell the amazing lavender fragrance as much as possible.

2. Combine lavender liquid, peaches, lemon juice and sugar in a very large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat and boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in pectin.

3. Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Makes 6 cups.

Note: this was my first time using liquid pectin and it didn't thicken up the way I would want.  Maybe it requires more boiling before adding the pectin.  I'm not sure.  I may try something with liquid pectin again in the future, but it seems more challenging to work with since you're supposed to remove the fruit mixture from heat before adding the pectin.    

The flavour is good, but it's more of a ice cream topping consistency than a jam.  

The fourth peach preserving recipe I followed was peaches in simple syrup.  I recruited my cousin, who was visiting for the week, to make this with me.  He's going to make an awesome boyfriend for someone one day -- he likes cooking and is studying to be a massage therapist.  Not to mention that he's a good kid and a nice guy (there's a difference between the two, right?).  Ladies??? 

I has some siphoning issues (syrup solution leaking out of the jars when removed from boiling canning water).  After some freaking out, I sought advice from Marisa at Food in Jars  and @Canvolution on Twitter (check out Canning Across America).  Both are great preserving resources and both said that this is probably due to a lack of headspace and, as long as the seal is good, it should be fine.  PHEW!

So, there you have it -- preserved peaches, four ways.

I started off the summer with a goal to fill the shelf, below, with jars.  The shelf runs the length of my 10 X 10 guest room.  Here's the progress:

If you're interested in reading more of our preserving posts, click on this link.

Blueberry Jam & St. Jacobs

A few weeks ago, R and I decided it was time to visit the mothership.

Well, not exactly that* mothership. The mothership I'm talking about is a one hour (in no traffic) drive away, past a shocking number of strip malls.

Giz and I started the weekend off with big plans to go fruit picking in the Niagara region, marketing in St. Jacobs, dinners with the family, preserving, watching Harry Potter (and the list goes on). But, most of those things weren't exactly on R's "to do" list of going to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Wayne Gretsky's restaurant or a Blue Jays game. So...here's how the compromise played out:

Saturday morning, we left early for the St. Jacobs Farmer's Market. I think we picked the busiest day of the summer, not to mention the heat was well into the 30s (somewhere around 100 Fahrenheit).

Probably the best deal of the day was the strawberries from this place:



Five packages (about 1 lb each) of strawberries for five dollars! Usually, on sale, they're about $2.99 each.

I only wish I had Baba on tape when we told her the next day that they were 5 for $5.

Baba: "5 for $5? No. 1 for $5?"

Giz: "No Baba -- 5 for $5 not 1 for $5"

Baba: "5 for $5?"

Giz: "Yes - 5 for $5"

Baba: "5 for $5?"

Giz: "Yes"

Baba: "Well that's a good deal"

Blueberries happen to be one of my favourite fruits, so we had plans for these guys:

The biggest patty pan squash I have ever seen. They look like they overindulged on a bunch of the these. Who knew that they came in such different sizes.

Apparently, the market is known for its peameal bacon sandwiches.

After about a couple of hours the dogs were DONE. As is, stop for one second and they're laying down in the closest patch of shade, done.

So, we went into the Village to check the stores out and find somewhere to sit in the shade.

Stone Crock Bakery is well-known in the region.

Their butter tarts are delicious!

After a full day, we returned home to chill out and enjoy the "fruits of our labour." Thumbs up for everything, except for the raspberries we bought that were very mostly stale and flavourless.

The next day, R and I went to a Blue Jays game where they retired Roberto Alomar's number and then out to a family dinner.

The next day, Giz and I did some preserving:

No Sugar Blueberry Jam
Bernardin



Makes about 4 to 6 x 250 or 236 ml jars

4 cups (1000 ml) crushed blueberries
1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened fruit juice, (i.e. cranberry, apple, white grape)
1 pkg (49 g) BERNARDIN® No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin
Sweetener – if using:
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener OR 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) granulated sugar (we used honey)

Place 6 clean 250 or 236 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water, and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside; heat lids in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and lids hot until ready to use.

Wash and crush blueberries, one layer at a time; or pulse small quantities of blueberries in a food processor; do NOT puree! Measure required quantities of blueberries and fruit juice into a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Whisk in No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin until dissolved.

Stirring constantly, bring fruit mixture to a boil over high heat. If using, add sweetener (sugar or SPLENDA®) and return mixture to a boil (we did this, but with about 3/4 cup of honey).
Stirring frequently, boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Skim foam.

Quickly ladle jam into a hot jar to within 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if required by adding more jam. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot lid on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner ensuring jars are covered by water. Repeat for remaining jam.

When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least 1” water. Cover canner and bring water to a full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 10 minutes.

When processing time is complete, remove canner lid; wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting. Cool upright on a protected work surface; leave undisturbed for 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands. After cooling check jar seals. Sealed lids curve downward. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within 1 year.

Giz tells me the jam is delicious and she wants to make more... I can't personally attest to that since I'm determined not to have multiple jars of jam open at one time (and am kind of hoarding all of my preserves).

We also made a strawberry-blueberry jam, inspired by this recipe.

* for those who don't recognize the first picture, it's the CN Tower in downtown Toronto.

No Sugar Raspberry Jam

I recently learned about Rideau Pines Farms & Market, located just outside of Ottawa. It is a Pick Your Own or We Pick fresh fruit and vegetable farm. The farm is owned by the Vandenberg family. John Vangenberg is the former head of the Horticultural Department at the Kemptville campus of the University of Guelph.

My friend and I spent a good part of the day, picking berries and veggies a couple of weeks ago.

During our trip, we were greeted by Aslan, who is more than willing to humour those of us who really want to get a dog (but have a husband who won't allow it).



Raspberries are my favourite berry to pick -- no kneeling, not too many bugs and easy to do a "one for me, one for the basket" (that's allowed, right?).



They also had Red Currants



and Black Currants, ready for picking.



After eating about 1/4 of the raspberries I picked, I figured I better preserve the rest.



I followed the Bernardin no-sugar pectin recipe, except I followed Craving Greens' advice of using honey to sweeten, rather than Splenda.

No Sugar Raspberry Jam

5 cup-sized jars
4 cups crushed raspberries
1 cup unsweetened apple or grape juice
1 package of No Sugar Needed Pectin
3/4 cup of honey or agave nectar, or 1 1/2 cup of all natural cane sugar (or omit altogether)
1/2 tsp butter (to reduce foaming)

In medium-sized saucepan, combine the crushed fruit and fruit juice.



Stir in butter (I excluded this and just skimmed the foam off) and the pectin until dissolved. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full boil, stirring frequently. If using, add the sweetener. Stirring constantly, return mixture to a full boil. Boil hard for 3 minutes.



Remove from heat and skim off foam, if necessary. Fill and process jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove bubbles, wipe jar rim and place hot disc on clean rim. Screw band down until resistance is met.

Boil in canner for 10 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and remove jars without tilting. You should hear the lids pop as they seal. Cool upright for 24 hours and refrigerate any that has not sealed, for immediate use.



The jam smells and tastes delicious!  I only added about 1/2 cup of honey.  Next time, I'll probably be a bit more generous with the honey.  But, I think I'll be sticking to the no-sugar pectin for the most part, because a one to one ratio of sugar to fruit just seems like too much sugar.

This dish is being shared with the Simple and In Season July Blog Event.